“You have betrayed us for a little dirty money!” The PragueSpring as seen by primary school teachers
2018
This study focuses on the everyday operation of primary schools
in Czechoslovakia during the so-called Prague Spring and the
subsequent communist political clampdown after the invasion by
the Warsaw Pact forces. The authors focus primarily on the
experiences of teachers, how events in this complex period
affected their professional lives, and how the renewal of
totalitarian power was reflected in their work. The research is
based on oral history as a method which enabled us to acquire
unique knowledge concerning the work and life of teachers in
the period under study. Findings from extensive archival
research are also an important part of the research. These show
that during the Prague Spring, as in Czechoslovak society as a
whole, the socio-political climate in primary schools relaxed
and communist power weakened, as reflected both in school
operation and in-class instruction. After the Warsaw Pact
invasion in August 1968, the regime became stricter again in
schools and elsewhere (similar to before the onset of the
Prague Spring). This was manifested especially in the constant
control of teachers’ activities during the Prague Spring, in
their persecution, and through the increasing emphasis on
ideological aspects of teacher training and pupil formation
through instruction.
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